Because both McCain and V.P. running mate Sarah Palin - the high-sticking hockey mom and self-possessed pit bull who's all too willing to smudge her lipstick, as long as it leaves a mark on Barack Obama's jugular - told us in no uncertain terms that they're about to wage battle.

And, no, it isn't going to be over health care, the economy or Iraq, issues that voters say matter most.

This is a culture war over which Americans are the most most American.

And, at least the way the Republicans have framed the argument, small-town, blue-collar citizens have cornered the market on hard work, patriotism and virtue.

If you live in the city or have a college degree, forget it. You're not one of us.

At least that's what Palin aptly conveyed with a smirk and a smile in her speech Wednesday night.

Riding a spate of mean-spirited Rudy Giuliani punch lines, Palin took her own nasty swipe at community organizing, thereby dissing the millions of citizens who benefited from it.

Conveniently forgetting about the work done by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - the world's greatest community organizer. Not to mention dismissing her own time spent as a PTA mom, because, after all, isn't room mothering a most personal form of community building?

Just maybe Palin's stabbing ignorance was calculated because the folks who live off King's legacy don't make up the Republican base.

"We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity," Palin said in a speech watched by 37.2 million viewers. "I grew up with those people. . . . They are the ones who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

"They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America."

Color missing

Yet it was hard not to notice the glaring lack of diversity being "celebrated" by proud Americans on the convention floor Wednesday night. Compared with the Democrats, the Republicans made for a stunningly homogeneous visual.

They seemingly ignored the fact that America is rapidly moving to a majority of ethnic minorities. African Americans made up only 36 of the 2,380 GOP delegates, the lowest number since conventions began tracking such numbers 40 years ago.

While the Republicans are heralding the choice of a female vice presidential candidate as historic, I guess racial diversity will have to wait its turn.

And speaking of Track, isn't it interesting how the Palins' family dynamic has added a surreal flip of the script of talking points for the religious right?

Poor Bristol Palin. The oldest Palin daughter, unwed and pregnant at 17, has unwillingly become the Republicans' new poster girl for abstinence - I mean, family values - standing with her proud-to-be-a-redneck boyfriend, who reportedly noted on his MySpace page that he doesn't want kids.

Now he's betrothed. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a shotgun at that wedding.

Ironic, isn't it, that it wasn't long ago that conservative yakkers gleefully described Michelle Obama - who has made it clear that her children will always be her No. 1 priority - as a "baby mama."

I guess such a foul double standard goes hand in hand with unreasonably high bars of expectation that the Obamas have been forced to jump - especially when race is applied.

It reminds me of comedian D.L. Hughley's biting take on teen pregnancy:

"When white girls get pregnant, they get a movie. When black girls get pregnant, they get a visit from a social worker and a box of condoms."

Reality show

The woman that McCain keeps saying over and over should be a glowing example for all women to emulate is not a reflection of my life.

It's downright insulting to me - and many other women.

Truth is, Superwoman may live in comic books, but not on Earth. Not even in the great state of Alaska.

"I'm a teacher with two kids and a husband and I struggle every day. None of it gets the attention it deserves," says Michelle Daniszewski, 35, who is married and lives on the Main Line. "Maybe [Palin] is this great woman who can manage, but I don't know how."

Not only that, Daniszewski believes that a dedicated mother wouldn't exploit a pregnant daughter and a baby with Down syndrome as pawns for political gain.

"I do think of her less as a mom because she put her [children] in a horrible situation," she said.

But other working women such as Karen Green, 38, of Ardmore, a mother of a 4-year-old, saw Palin as "refreshing" and "charismatic."

"Even though I was shocked at the choice, I thought she did a great job," Green says.

Green, a registered Republican, represents the coveted undecided female voter that Republicans hope Palin can hand over with a small-town smile.

But she is not your typical Republican voter. Green admits she would love to see a McCain-Joe Biden ticket. And her concern over the state of health care has the pharmaceutical rep considering an Obama vote.

One of many issues Palin failed to address Wednesday night.

Which didn't go unnoticed by Green. "I need more detail and context from all of them," she said, adding: "I probably won't know what I'll do until I go into the voting booth in November."

But one thing is certain. Her vote won't be based on a gun-toting woman emerging as the darling of her party's ticket.